Putin: Services from Microsoft, Zoom & Co. should be "strangled" in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that foreign companies that have officially left the country but continue to offer their services there should be “strangled”. This was reported by the Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajansı Zoom following a meeting between Putin and representatives of various companies. He mentioned Microsoft and Zoom by name, which would continue to make money in Russia. Both had announced that they would leave the country in response to the major Russian offensive against Ukraine. However, they have not fully implemented this.

Call for Russian alternatives

Putin's statement came in response to a specific question about what should be done about companies that continue to make profits in Russia. He replied: “We have to strangle them, I completely agree. I say this without being embarrassed because they are trying to strangle us. We have to return the favor.” What he specifically means by this is not clear from the message. However, he has once again called for local alternatives to popular services to be developed in Russia. In addition, people in Russia should stop using services that contain “bad habits”.

Since Russia has been boycotted by numerous countries and companies as a result of the large-scale offensive against Ukraine and the escalation of the war of aggression, there have been repeated reports of attempts to promote the country's own alternatives – but so far, mostly with little success. Most recently, in March, it was reported that lithography systems suitable for 350-nanometer chips had been developed there. Western and Asian chip manufacturers already produced such systems in the 1990s. The development of its games console is also making slow progress.

Read also

Chip production: Russia builds its first own lithography systems

(mho)